98 per cent of potholes repaired within 24 hours

January 31, 2025

Source: New Zealand Government

The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says.
“Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is a key priority for our Government, and boosting pothole repairs and prevention will deliver a safe and efficient state highway network that will support this growth.
“One of the reasons this Government was elected was because people were fed up with the degradation of our roads under Labour. They could see it in their day-to-day lives, with record numbers of potholes peppering highways across the country. Our Government promised change to Kiwis and the freight sector, and we are delivering on that promise.
“To sort out the potholes, we established a $3.9 billion Pothole Prevention Activity Class over three years, ringfenced for resealing, rehabilitation, and drainage maintenance works to ensure these funds are used entirely on preventing potholes. The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) is now delivering a significant programme of works, including a record increase in road rehabilitation, which involves rebuilding entire sections of road rather than just resealing.
“The Government’s Pothole Prevention Fund is delivering a total of 285.6 lane kilometres of rehabilitation work over the summer months – a 124 per cent increase compared to last year. This record level of rehabilitation work will help prevent potholes from forming in the first place.
“The previous government showed Kiwis that throwing more money at a problem is lazy, expensive, and ineffective. Funding must be paired with increased expectation and accountabilities, and that is what we’ve introduced to drive better results. Faster pothole repairs are improving the safety and maintenance standards on our roads.”
In July last year, the Government introduced targets for NZTA contractors to repair 95 per cent of potholes on main state highways and 85 per cent of potholes on regional state highways within 24 hours of identification.
“The results speak for themselves. Since our targets were introduced, NZTA has delivered every month with greater use of new innovations to ensure that temporary pothole repairs last longer before a permanent reseal can take place, instead of simply placing cold mix in potholes,” Mr Bishop says.
“Achieving these targets month after month shows the significant progress we’ve made in tackling the pothole issue. Kiwis can now travel more safely and efficiently on our roads, with fewer disruptions and safety hazards.
“If you see a pothole on the state highway network, report it immediately by calling 0800 4 HIGHWAYS. Together, Kiwis are ensuring that potholes are identified and repaired as quickly as possible.”
Notes to editor:

NZTA has delivered on the Government’s 24 hour pothole repair targets each month since they were introduced, exceeding the targets set in July.

Month
Total Potholes Repaired
% Repaired Within 24 Hours

Jul-24
7,114
95%

Aug-24
6,303
98%

Sep-24
5,030
98%

Oct-24
4,809
98%

Nov-24
3,200
99%

Dec-24
1,697
98%

Potholes tend to be formed in wet conditions, which is why there are a higher number requiring repair in winter months.

The Pothole Prevention Activity Class includes $2 billion of funding for State Highway Pothole Prevention over three years, and $1.9 billion for local road Pothole Prevention over three years.
The number of kilometres of rehabilitation work on state highways as part of the 2024/25 summer maintenance programme compared to the previous programme:
The summer maintenance programme began in October 2024 and will be completed by March 2025.

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Waitangi Day – Government supports 26 Waitangi events across Aotearoa

LiveNews Publisher

January 31, 2025

Source: Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Government funding will go towards 26 community events to commemorate Waitangi Day in 2025, from Tāhuna (Queenstown) to Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) and Rēkohu/Wharekauri (Chatham Islands).

The Commemorating Waitangi Day Fund, administered by Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage, supports events that commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and increases awareness and knowledge of Te Tiriti through celebrations and local storytelling.

“This Fund recognises that Waitangi Day is for all New Zealanders, wherever you celebrate it,” says Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae, Manatū Taonga Tumu Whakarae Secretary for Culture and Heritage.

“With so many exciting events planned, we hope that all New Zealanders will be able to engage with this important kaupapa up and down the motu to learn about our country’s history.

“$300,000 in grants will enable communities to celebrate this important national day and explore how Te Tiriti has shaped the nation we are today.

“In Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawke’s Bay), Ngāti Kahungunu will be hosting an event for all members of the community. Whakawhanaungatanga activities will bring together the shared heritage of the region to commemorate Te Tiriti through kapa haka, English and Gaelic music, Pasifika dance and Asian songs.

“Te Whare Taonga o Waikato, Waikato Museum will be hosting a ‘Weaving a Future Together’ community day with kōrero (talks) and workshops covering local stories, Te Tiriti, toi Māori, and raranga (weaving).

“Masterton District Council is partnering with iwi, hapū, tangata whenua and high schoolers to enhance community understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. ‘On the Couch’ discussions with Tangata Tiriti and a Year 13 Te Tiriti wananga are part of efforts to raise awareness and knowledge of Te Tiriti among the Whakaoriori and Wairarapa communities.

“And over on the Chathams, kaumatua, kura, local council and community groups will bring people together with traditional sporting activities, karakia, waiata, kōrero and kai to acknowledge Te Tiriti.

“With so many ways to celebrate in so many locations, we encourage all New Zealanders to take this opportunity to reflect on our nation’s founding document and how we can incorporate the principles of Te Tiriti into our lives on this public holiday and beyond.

“Thank you to all the event organisers across Aotearoa that will bring their communities together to mark this special day,” says Laulu Mac.

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New campaign calls for an end to criminalising Aotearoa’s vulnerable children – Save the Children

LiveNews Publisher

January 31, 2025

Source: Save the Children

Save the Children has today launched a new campaign calling on New Zealanders to oppose a new Government bill looking to introduce the use of physical force and re-introduce military style detention camps for the country’s most vulnerable children.

The ‘Boot the Bill’ campaign and petition asks Kiwis to make a stand against the new Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Amendment Bill, currently before Select Committee, which, if passed, would reintroduce harmful military-style boot camps and permit the use of physical force against children.

Save the Children’s Advocacy and Research Director Jacqui Southey says evidence shows that punitive approaches like these fail to address the root causes of youth offending, such as trauma, abuse and systemic inequality, and risk causing further harm to already vulnerable children.

“This form of coercive youth justice intervention is an outdated methodology, has been tried before in New Zealand, with little to no effect in preventing youth offending and may even increase rates of reoffending,” she says.

“The inclusion of allowing the use of “reasonable physical force”, which in real terms is the use of physical violence to subdue a child, poses a real risk to children and is absolutely unacceptable, breaching children’s rights to be protected from all forms of violence.

“It’s time to stop criminalising our most vulnerable children and look towards policies that support positive change and ensure a brighter future for our youth.”

In addition to the research, testimony provided by survivors of Abuse in State Care as part of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State Care and Faith Based Care clearly shows that children have been violently abused and traumatised in State-funded boot camp style institutions in New Zealand.

Ms Southey says as recently as 2004, Te Whakapakari Youth Programme (Te Whakapakari) was a fully State-funded boot camp style programme where children were sent as social welfare care and protection or youth justice sentencing options. While it claimed to promote drug abuse rehabilitation, self-esteem and skills development, Māoritanga and confidence building, underpinned by military style discipline, instead children suffered cruel, violent and inhumane treatment including, extreme psychological, physical and sexual abuse.

“A former Minister of Child, Youth and Family, Hon Ruth Dyson, was quoted as saying, ‘A lot of government money was put into that programme and in the end it resulted in the State funding violence and abuse towards children and young people’” she says.

“Most young offenders are victims themselves, having experienced high rates of criminal abuse, neglect, and violence, often from infancy. If New Zealand is to be truly effective in preventing youth crime, we need to be serious about preventing harm to children occurring in the first place. That means investing in programmes and policies to strengthen families, particularly those struggling, to ensure good outcomes for children in both the short and long term.”

About Save the Children NZ:

Save the Children works in 120 countries across the world. The organisation responds to emergencies and works with children and their communities to ensure they survive, learn and are protected.

Save the Children NZ currently supports international programmes in Fiji, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Laos, Nepal, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Areas of work include child protection, education and literacy, disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation, and alleviating child poverty.

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Greenpeace – Jones reveals Govt’s actual climate policy – expanding fossil fuel extraction

LiveNews Publisher

January 31, 2025

Source: Greenpeace

The Government’s true climate policy, which is to increase fossil fuel extraction, was revealed today in the release of the finalised mining policy, says Greenpeace.

“Just a few hours after the Government released an updated Paris Climate Target, their actual climate policy was revealed by Shane Jones in the policy to increase fossil fuel extraction,” says Greenpeace Aotearoa executive director Russel Norman.

“The Luxon Government wants to fast track coal mining and restart oil and gas exploration, which is a complete contradiction to the objectives of the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse emissions.”

The Government’s announcement went one step further with a threat to introduce regulations that will force banks to finance fossil fuel expansion.

“Shane Jones, acting as an agent of foreign mining companies, is attempting to force fossil fuel extraction on New Zealanders, most of whom want a responsible climate policy,” says Norman.

“Overseas-based fossil fuel companies will walk away with profits while New Zealanders will be left to pay the clean-up costs.

The offshore oil company Tamarind Oil left New Zealanders with a $400m clean-up bill when they went bankrupt.

“The Government’s true climate policy must be judged by their actions not their words – and their actions are more fossil fuel extraction.”

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Privacy News – January 2025

LiveNews Publisher

January 31, 2025

Source: Privacy Commissioner

The first Privacy News of 2025 covers the release of the Biometrics Code and how to give feedback on this, a new case note about personal information being published to a website, and the introduction of OPC’s Mori reference panel. There is also a notice about new translations of our privacy brochures – we now offer them in Traditional and Simplified Chinese, and Vietnamese. Read the January 2025 issue.

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Decision reached on Dunedin Hospital

LiveNews Publisher

January 31, 2025

Source: New Zealand Government

The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control.
“Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin Hospital that will futureproof the provision of timely, quality healthcare for the people of Dunedin and the surrounding Otago and Southland regions. This will be a new, modern hospital, built at the former Cadbury factory site,” Mr Brown says.
“Last year, the Government invested $290 million towards the new Dunedin Hospital project, bringing the total funding for the project to $1.88 billion. Alongside this, the Government is investing a record additional $16.68 billion in health over three years.
“All New Zealanders deserve to see better results for that record spend on health, including better health infrastructure, to ensure they have access to timely, quality healthcare. The Government has listened to the Dunedin community and is committed to build a new Dunedin Hospital to deliver the healthcare locals need.”
Upon opening, the new Dunedin Hospital will provide:

351 beds, with capacity to expand to 404 beds over time
20 short-stay surgical beds, a new model of care
22 theatres, with capacity to expand to 24 theatres over time
41 same day beds to provide greater capacity for timely access to specialist and outpatient procedures
58 ED spaces, including a short-stay unit and specialised emergency psychiatric care
20 imaging units for CT, MRI and Xray procedures, with 4 additional spaces available for future imaging advancement.

In late September last year, the Government released Robert Rust’s independent review into the hospital project. The review found that the project was alarmingly off-track and over budget due to poor decision making and due diligence by the previous government.
“The Dunedin Hospital project was poorly handled under the previous government. They promised big, made poor decisions, and blew out the budget. We are focused on delivering a safe, modern hospital complex that Dunedin deserves,” Mr Brown says.
“There are few suitable sites for a new Dunedin Hospital to be located. The former Cadbury factory site purchased by the previous government has numerous construction challenges such as contamination, flood risk, and access issues. However, we are confident that these can be overcome, and it’s clear that using this site to build a new hospital would be far less disruptive than constructing a new complex at the existing hospital.
“Our review of the project means the hospital will be futureproofed for growth, with no change to the number of floors to be built. The new Dunedin Hospital will provide clinical staff with world-class facilities and is designed to meet the needs of the community. The site will also be futureproofed so new beds and services will be able to be brought online when needed. The new Dunedin Hospital will be able to adapt and expand in years to come to ensure it responds to changing needs.”
Further updates will be provided once the contracting process has been completed.

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First Plunket site begins delivering childhood immunisations

LiveNews Publisher

January 31, 2025

Source: New Zealand Government

From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.

The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It will allow Plunket to deliver vaccinations alongside in-clinic Well Child visits, at dedicated immunisations clinics, at community events, and eventually in homes.

“Improving childhood immunisation rates is a priority for the Government. Having established immunisation services across the country is an important step in increasing access and reducing barriers.

“The Government knows that immunisations are a critical tool in protecting children from serious, preventable diseases such as whooping cough (pertussis), which has worryingly already hospitalised a number of babies so far this year.

“Our Government’s health targets are critical to ensuring that all New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare services. This new service will support our target of 95 per cent of children being fully vaccinated by 24 months of age, setting them up for a healthy start in life.

“By upskilling the existing workforce and catching those in the system who may not be able to access their general practice or aren’t enrolled, we’ll be able to boost childhood immunisations in areas where vaccine coverage is particularly low,” Mr Brown says.

This initiative to boost the vaccination workforce is in addition to the $50 million investment over two years for Hauora Māori providers to deliver additional vaccinations. The pilot runs until June 2026.

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Greens stand with Coromandel locals against Luxon’s destructive mining policy

LiveNews Publisher

January 31, 2025

Source: Green Party

Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine.

“These communities have successfully opposed mining for the best part of 50 years – Jones’ latest announcement is a mere blip in history that will be undone when there’s a new Green Government,” says Green Party Spokesperson for Resources, Steve Abel.

“They know first-hand that long after the jobs have dried up and the mine bosses have taken the profits overseas the locals are left with a toxic legacy of cyanide tailings dams and acid mine drainage.

“Our public conservation lands exist to protect our rich natural landscapes, and the unique native plants and animals that they sustain.

“When John Key’s National government proposed a similar policy in 2010, 40,000 people marched up Queen Street in vehement opposition. Now, Christopher Luxon is resurrecting the same terrible idea.

“Mining more conservation land was a terrible idea 15 years ago and it’s a worse idea now. The message back in 2010 was clear: conservation land is for all of us, not for the profits of a wealthy few. Nothing’s changed.

“We can’t mine our way to a liveable planet. The resources we need for energy transition need to come from better waste recovery. Coal and gold are not critical minerals.

“We can’t rip, strip and bust our way to real prosperity – our well-being relies on a thriving natural world and a stable climate–and that’s why the extractive mindset is unfit for the 21st century,” says Steve Abel.

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Hearings schedule and selection of submitters decided— Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill

LiveNews Publisher

January 31, 2025

Source: New Zealand ParliamentThe Justice Committee has decided how submitters will be selected for the remaining 70 hours of hearings on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. The committee has also issued an indicative hearings schedule.
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A new direction for the minerals sector to grow the economy

LiveNews Publisher

January 31, 2025

Source: New Zealand Government

Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today.

It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the Minerals Strategy for New Zealand and our Critical Minerals List.

Of course our joint presence fulfils a deeper presence. It is a validation of an industry that has suffered from excessive regulation and poisonous politics. It is a chance to stand with a skilled workforce that is literally worth its weight in gold.

A year of delivery for the minerals sector under the Coalition Government

In May last year I stood in front of a packed hall in Blackball on the West Coast, people who depend on our mineral resources.

I presented to them a vision for the future – a vision that would see our wealth base grow by utilising our mineral reserves to benefit all New Zealanders, increasing our domestic resilience by reducing reliance on imported minerals.

I said this meant owning up to the fact that we will use our indigenous fossil fuels. Resources integral to our modern industrial civilisation. We do have valuable minerals, oil and gas.

These minerals include coal, a vital ingredient to steel-making, a source of energy and jobs, a stream of export earnings.

I spoke of our focus on cutting barriers to development but not corners, and increasing New Zealand’s contributions to global supply chains, especially for minerals that are needed to support the transition to diverse sources of energy.

Dealing with banks

It is not widely known but some barriers are not imposed by government but come in the form of corporate straitjackets. One should look no further than the directors and executives of our banking sector. Some are in thrall to climate group-think.

They are the new corporate gatekeepers, imposing moral priorities under the cover of saving the planet upon regional communities. Not only are they inflicting their luxury beliefs on our farming industry but they are actively de-banking mineral firms.

Kiwi enterprises legitimately operating in the natural resource sector are being driven to despair by these woke-riddled, corporate undertakers.

This malevolence flows from cult like accords fostered within the UN where banks and their sustainability units foolishly believe they can change the weather. New Zealand banks should abandon such agreements as the Net Zero Banking Alliance. These instruments are alien and represent a foreign threat to regional development.

To this end New Zealand First will be introducing a members bill stopping the banks and related corporate bodies from behaving in this harmful manner. We cannot let them hold our economic development to ransom to suit the privileged cabal employed on environmental, social and inclusion matters.

This will include the ability for regulators to remove a bank’s operating licence if it persist with virtue-signalling destructiveness.

As an Associate Finance Minister, I will be working closely with the Minister for Regulation to identify how elements of our bill can be used in the wider government work programme.

I would like to acknowledge the work of ACT MP Mark Cameron on this issue so far. He is a champion for the farming sector.

I want the mining sector on an enduring pathway to boost regional opportunities and jobs, increase our self-sufficiency, to be a critical part of our export-led focus, especially as we take advantage of the global opportunities for new minerals uses.

How can we achieve such outcomes if key intermediaries such as banks and insurance companies are going to bully our Kiwi businesses and their employees out of the economy? When did citizens authorise corporates to use climate extremism to bankrupt firm and family alike?

It is bad enough that Aussie-owned banks are behaving in this predatory manner but it is especially galling that Kiwibank is treating Kiwis in this vein. Had New Zealand First known this would be their attitude we may very well have formed a different view about their recent recapitalisation initiative.

Our Government has progressed in enabling an environment for a responsible and productive minerals sector to thrive.

Resources-friendly policy

We’ve moved quickly to enact policy and legislative fixes. Our upgrades have included introducing the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill that will not only remove the ban on petroleum exploration beyond onshore Taranaki – it will deliver a new tier of minerals permit to make it easier for people to undertake small-scale non-commercial gold mining activity across the country. We expect to finalise and pass the Bill in the coming months.

We’ve made changes to the Resource Management Act to align consenting for coal mining with other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development.

Timely permit decisions are vital in supporting the sector to get to work. Following direction on my expectations, regulator New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals has made significant progress dealing with the backlog of permit decisions while managing the growing influx of new applications as activity ramps up.

Figures for 2024 show a 74 per cent increase in minerals permitting output – that’s the number of outcomes made on minerals applications – compared to the previous calendar year.

In 2023, NZP&M received 288 new and change minerals permit applications and in 2024 it was 447. That is a 55 per cent increase – and a very good indicator of a sector that is really starting to hum.

We have begun our journey to rebuild international investor awareness in our mining sector through the delivery of investment aids such as the GNS Endowment Study. This is a specialist report bringing together extensive technical research to identify short, medium, and long-term prospects for potential development.

We have returned to the international mining stage to make sure New Zealand is back on the agenda for international investors and challenge responsible operators to explore what we have to offer.

Finally, I can’t understate the impact that our new Fast-track Approvals legislation will have in sending well-planned, investment-ready projects along the path of development.

The Act’s broad and overarching purpose statement is to recognise the contributions significant projects such as mining operations can make to our communities and economy.

At long last the gate-keepers behind the outdated Wildlife Act and cumbersome Conservation Act will be brought to heel. On the former there is more to do. Sadly it is often delivered at an operational level in a way inimical to our productivity.

Previously mining companies were unable to secure permits under these statutes for dubious reasons. That has now disappeared. If there are implementation problems the Government will make additional amendments to the law.

A one-stop shop will streamline the pathway to attaining the approvals required for mining activities, removing the multiple application processes operators currently must navigate to mine in New Zealand.

Land access

One of the key areas I see this process improving is concessions for land access. An array of high-value mining and quarrying projects are already approved to travel this consenting pathway.

Officials estimate the number of jobs across the mining projects listed in Schedule 2 of the Fast-track Approvals Act at over 2,500 direct fulltime jobs at peak production. Many of these roles will be well-paying regional jobs with significant opportunities for training and growing skills.

I don’t need to tell the good folks of Waihi that every direct employee of a mining company generates many more job opportunities. The environmental scientists that provide expert advice, the drilling companies that contract with OceanaGold, and all the other skills needed to run a successful operation spread out over the local, regional, and national economy.

For the seven listed mining projects that will generate export revenue, estimates are a peak of $2.5 billion in 2033, with gold playing a big part. This is what our minerals potential looks like.

Going forward, this is what consenting will look like for significant mining projects in our country.

As our industry expands, we need to ensure that Paamu and statutes such as the Queen Elizabeth the Second National Trust Act are fit for purpose and do not inhibit the growth of critical minerals.

When there is opportunity, we are going to say yes

I will make one further note about this Government’s work to provide the certainty that the sector needs to push forward.

Not all conservation land is equal. We have an inordinately large conservation estate of varying quality.

Stewardship land is managed by the Department of Conservation until it is appropriately assessed for its conservation value and classified. Around 30 per cent of conservation areas are held in stewardship – that’s over 2.7 million hectares or 9 per cent of New Zealand’s total land area.

A lot of that land isn’t considered to have special conservation or scenic values, but we do know that there are areas there likely to contain mineral deposits.

This Government supports sustainable and environmentally approved mining on stewardship land and other categories of DOC land but we are very clear that national parks and other land categories identified under schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act are not on the table.

It would be remiss of me not to also mention my favourite amphibian, Freddy the Frog at this point. I raise this not in a flippant way, but as realist wanting to have a genuine conversation about how we focus our efforts and limited resources in protecting the natural assets that New Zealanders value most.

It is correct that our Archey’s frog is endangered – but it is not from mining. The real threat to Freddy is the rats, stoats and pigs that populate significant extents of our stewardship and conservation land.

I put to you that the work we are doing to enable responsible mining in New Zealand is the best news Freddy has had for a long time. As part of its listed Fast-track Approvals project, OceanaGold will be stepping up with an intensive predator control programme in the Coromandel Forest Park.

In fact, it’s because of OceanaGold and its specialist conservationists that we have some of the most insightful research collected on the species to date. Over $600,000 towards ecological outcomes around this mining site.

Actually a much larger sum when one considers the broader commercial footprint including Macraes, Otago, South Island. Such a quantum is not possible without a successful business.

It is time for Kiwis to have an honest and considered debate on mining. On this score I am going to pay more attention to the blue collar community than woke collar spongers.

This engagement will lead us to the complex and deadweight nature of our climate change regulations. They are excessive for our small economy. They run the risk of deindustrialisation, exporting jobs and importing carbon.

Of course this is all intertwined with environmental, social and government reporting requirements. dubious value and should be discretionary at best. Green scrub that has spread too far and needs a severe prune.

We need to acknowledge the criticality of minerals to our daily lives, the importance of maintaining a strong, independent economy with well-paying jobs and opportunities in our regions. Why import materials we can perfectly adequately supply ourselves?

Some people argue against minerals extraction, but gladly rely on the conveniences of modern society and economy built by those resources. As our Prime Minister said, we don’t have the luxury of turning off growth.

A strategy to ensure momentum is enduring

Some of you in the sector may be looking at this progress and feeling like we’ve been here before, only for the hard-won momentum to die with a change in Government.

I hear your concerns. I’ve spoken at length about how a lack of long-term, enduring strategic direction has hindered this country in reaping the economic and security benefits our bounty of natural resources presents.

Today we change that.

The Minerals Strategy for New Zealand adopts a strategic lens out to 2040, focusing our approach to the development of our minerals estate with a delivery roadmap to get us there. This is a holistic picture of minerals production from the earth, from reprocessing waste material, and from potential recycling and recovery.

There are three main changes to the strategy follow consultation with New Zealanders.

We have reframed the strategy to have a clear vision, goal and succinct outcomes.

Our key outcomes for the sector are productive, valued, and resilient, and are guided by overarching principles that respect Treaty settlement obligations and ensure responsible practices.

Minerals developments in New Zealand will happen in a responsible manner where environmental guard rails are appropriate to the risks being managed. The protection, the health and safety of our workers, and impacts on regional communities is important.

This means we are working towards sector growth and innovation that contributes to New Zealand’s prosperity. The sector’s performance and responsible practices need to be emphasised. Advocacy and being forward leaning is important. I recognise the sector has been subject to misinformation but the mute button is not an option.

We have updated the goal of doubling our exports to $3 billion by 2035 from the previous goal of $2 billion. Statistics NZ reports that mineral exports for the financial year ending June 2023 totalled $1.46 billion and our submitters were clear – we needed a more ambitious goal.

Finally, I want to assure you that we are not downing tools when there is still work to do. The addition of a Delivery Roadmap clearly sets out the key actions the Government will take to achieve the strategy’s goal and vision.

In the short term, key actions include creating a network to support minerals research and development, making information about minerals and regulations more accessible to potential investors, and engaging with countries to support supply chain resilience for critical minerals.

Longer term, we will deliver a minerals research strategy and address workforce development needs, skills and training programmes.

Through our Minerals Strategy we have formed the foundations. Soon our government will roll out the refreshed approach to inward foreign direct investment. You have told me that an overseas investment process that is efficient, timely and not too costly is important.

We have a pathway forward. A permitting regime which acknowledges the principle of risk proportionality. A recognition that excessive climate net zero regulations will thwart economic growth. A consideration of ecological, community, tangata whenua issues that is balanced and does not present scope for veto power.

An expanded Critical Minerals List

I don’t have to explain to anyone here today how we rely on a wide range of minerals to enable the comforts of our lives. Every road you drive on, every light switch you turn on, our schools, hospitals and homes. All are enabled in some way by the extraction of our natural resources.

If suddenly we couldn’t access aggregate to construct our roads, phosphate to support the growth of our crops or iron sand to make steel for our buildings, our economy would grind to a halt.

On the matter of iron sands, the recent Taharoa RMA hearing process for consents to continue an activity that has been happening for over 50 years was a circus. It shows that more robustness is needed. Hopefully the treatment this firm receives will be inordinately better under the Fast-track processes.

Equally, there is no low emissions energy transition without minerals – no batteries, no electric cars, no wind turbines and no solar panels.

Unfortunately, we have never sought a comprehensive picture of the minerals needs of New Zealand now and in the future, or how we ensure those supplies are secure and affordable.

I am delighted today to release New Zealand’s Critical Minerals List, a holistic picture of the minerals that are economically important and are vulnerable to supply risk or essential to unlocking other critical minerals.

Following public consultation last September, the Critical Minerals List now features 37 minerals, up from 35.

The Coalition Government agreed to include both gold and metallurgical coal, which is used in steelmaking, on the list in recognition of their importance to our minerals sector and economy, and in unlocking other critical minerals.

Together, they represent 80 per cent of our mineral exports, generating export revenues of around $1.2 billion in the year to June 2023.

Simply put, OceanaGold’s Waihi Operation today shows gold investments needs skills, machinery, resources, and capacity to support our modern industrial system.

The legacy of gold- and coal-mining is that of a catalyst for transformation – for our economy, for our development, for our technical skills and trades, and for our place on the world stage.

Future mining in New Zealand will play to our strengths in terms of existing production while we develop new opportunities. That means gold and metallurgical coal.

We will also offer more bespoke and boutique opportunities for the right investors.

Of our 37 critical minerals, we produce or have the potential to produce 21 here in New Zealand. We are a prospective destination for sought-after minerals like antimony and we have operators working rare earth, vanadium and titanium projects – all exciting opportunities for New Zealand to support the international transition to a clean energy future.

Our list will contribute to New Zealand’s work on critical international supply chains and allow us to investigate specific actions for securing better access to the minerals we’ve deemed critical.

This could include preferential pathways and settings for development and supply of minerals on the list, or building international relationships to ensure secure supply of those we can’t produce. This work programme forms part of the Strategy’s delivery roadmap and will kick off shortly.

Close

When I left Blackball last year, I did so with the promise I would continue to be a dogged champion for the minerals sector and the economic prosperity it can offer New Zealand, if done right.

I hope I have shown you that with the work we have done to get the right direction and settings in place, you can have confidence that we have an enduring pathway forward.

This Government is taking an active, deliberate and co-ordinated approach to harnessing the potential of our natural resources to take us from ‘open for business’ to ‘doing business’.

The sector has been a transformative agent in the past, and I expect it to play a transforming role into the future.

MIL OSI

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